knowledge level of typical travel agents

I have a question about the knowledge level I should expect from my travel agent. Here is the current scenario:

1) I booked an 11 day Mediterranean cruise, Reflection, 9/21/15, 2A cabin with TA. Got the 123GO pkg. deal. We went on our first Celebrity in Feb., so we were Preview members in the Captain's club at the time of booking.

2) While on board our cruise, I found out that we could book the same cruise and receive additional on-board credit. The future cruise desk told us that we could then transfer the booking back to our TA, and cancel the original booking with the TA. He booked us in a 2B, saying that, "because we are now Captain's Club members, we would automatically receive an upgrade to 2A."

3) we get home and I call the TA. He says that we cannot have the 1 category upgrade because it is not specifically stated in the paperwork I received from the future cruise desk. We end up paying about $225 more in order to have the same category 2A room, which completely negates the $200 OBC we received by booking in board. Looking back, it was probably a dumb move on my part to transfer the booking to the TA, but I was also working on booking 2 other cruises at the same time and got a little confused.

4) I happened to be looking around the Celebrity website this morning and lo and behold, there is a statement under the description of benefits for Classic Captains Club which states that a one-category upgrade within a super category is a perk of being a Classic member. We became Classic members as soon as we completed our first cruise, which was in February.

5) my question: should my TA have known about the perks in the Captain's Club levels? What level of knowledge do your TA's have about such things? This has become a matter of trust for me. All my reservations are with a large online service and I thought I had found a good TA but now I'm not so sure...

TIA

Yes, your TA should have known unless he/she has not booked many Celebrity cruises. If they didn't know, then they should have checked with Celebrity.

Now, having said that, I learned a while back that I knew a few things that my TA did not. That's why I decided to start booking our cruises directly through Celebrity.

My opinion is that the level of knowledge expected should correspond with the focus of that travel agent. I am NOT excusing misinformation. I also believe if someone does not know something, they should find out. At the same time sometimes you don't know what you don't know.

If I am booking with a TA (like some of the big onlines) who book thousands of cruises on the line I am booking, I expect them to know the ins and outs of all the pricing, specials, impact of specials, etc., down to the last detail. If I am booking with a local agent for whom cruises are a small part of the business with no specialization then I expect them to do their due diligence but I cannot fairly expect them to understand every nuance, or know everything there is to know about a cruise line.

It sounds like the Celebrity future cruise person messed up. The 1 category upgrade should have been done when you booked on-board. You should have been able to pick a 2A cabin and the Celebrity agent on board should have booked that cabin at the 2B price.

As to knowledge level of a TA; even the large on-line agencies that book thousands of cruises probably have difficulty keeping up with the many promos, loyality programs and details of the many ocean cruise lines as well as the numerous River cruise lines.

I use a on-line TA for the additional perks and so that I don't have to sit on hold at X for long periods of time to make a change or secure a price drop.

I do my own research and know what I want to book and what I am entitled to before calling a TA for booking. If they have additional info or suggestions to get a better deal that's a plus.

The knowledge of particular travel agents vary all over the place...

So does their ability, their willingness to fight for you, their understanding of the cruise booking process, their connections with the cruise line...and many other factors...

A lot of travel agents just don't book a lot of cruises...or some don't necessarily book a lot with the cruise line you are going on...Some TAs just don't care--they'll go through the easy processof mechanically booking the cruise oblivious to the things that might be helpful in getting you a better deal. For some TAs, the incentive is merely the size of their commission--getting you a discount goes against their interests...

Also, Travel Agents are on different commission schedules based on their volume with the cruise line...and travel agencies can have differing overhead--which makes some TAs willing to give you other benefits--out of their own pocket--like additional OBC...

The trick is to find a REALLY GOOD Travel Agent--one who not only discounts--or gives OBC and/or other incentives, but also knows the ins and outs of booking and is willing to go the extra mile to get you the deal you want...One who really knows the cruise line, the itineraries...and watches the deals and pricing...and one who will fight for YOU when there's an issue with the cruise line...

Finding the combination of all of that is not easy...But there are some out there...Safe to say that MOST TAs out there fall short in one or all of those areas...

Also, help your TA about a bit. When booking, remind your TA about things like your Captains Club status...Go on line before hand and check yourself about things like senior rates or residency rates--and, if you find them, bring them to the TAs attention...Even really good TAs can miss some things at times...

And I'd never cancel one reservation until I have the better one CONFIRMED...And, if something went wrong, I would expect the TA to go to bat for me--or I'd be looking for another TA...

After reading posts over several years, I would also question the compentance of the agents you talk to when you call the cruise line direct. I book through whoever can give me the best deal. I've been doing this long enough that I know the questions I have to ask, and the response I should get to book through them. Bottom line, I only need someone to do the paperwork, nothing else.

Thank you very much for all your responses! I truly appreciate this board and hope that someday I can help somebody like y'all helped me today.

Here's a little more info which might help clarify things:

1) We did not receive the one category upgrade at the time of the onboard booking because the 2A cabins had gone to GTY only status, and we wanted the same room we had originally booked with our TA. In order to get the same room, our future cruise person told us to tell our TA when we got home about the uograde and the TA could call Celebrity. Perhaps the GTY only availability is the reason the TA couldn't/wouldn't give us the upgrade?

And as an FYI,

2) This really chapped my husband's behind- we were charged $500 by the TA, supposedly, when a different cruise we booked was transferred from Celebrity to the travel agency. According to Celebrity, when a travel agency creates a "group" so you can get a lower price, the required deposit increases. That's ok with us, just please let us know that you're going to charge our credit card! Everything I read on this board seems to indicate that sometimes Celebrity isn't quite sure what's going on...So maybe I'm putting the blame in the wrong place...what do y'all think?

Thanks again everyone,

Thank you very much for all your responses! I truly appreciate this board and hope that someday I can help somebody like y'all helped me today.

 

Here's a little more info which might help clarify things:

 

1) We did not receive the one category upgrade at the time of the onboard booking because the 2A cabins had gone to GTY only status, and we wanted the same room we had originally booked with our TA. In order to get the same room, our future cruise person told us to tell our TA when we got home about the uograde and the TA could call Celebrity. Perhaps the GTY only availability is the reason the TA couldn't/wouldn't give us the upgrade?

 

And as an FYI,

2) This really chapped my husband's behind- we were charged $500 by the TA, supposedly, when a different cruise we booked was transferred from Celebrity to the travel agency. According to Celebrity, when a travel agency creates a "group" so you can get a lower price, the required deposit increases. That's ok with us, just please let us know that you're going to charge our credit card! Everything I read on this board seems to indicate that sometimes Celebrity isn't quite sure what's going on...So maybe I'm putting the blame in the wrong place...what do y'all think?

 

Thanks again everyone,

It sounds like the future booking agent made a bit of a mess when they booked you into a 25 when you were planning to do a 2A for the price of a 2B. This means the agent likely put you into a 2B for the price of a 2C. They cannot book you into a room if a room isn't available at the time of booking.

As for the group thing, yes, Celebrity does require a full deposit when booking into a group. N your TA should have told you he/she was moving you into a group and that a full deposit was required. Mine does this quite often, but I am fully aware and she does it with my permission to get me more OBC. It sounds as though you booked a cruise, made a $100 per person deposit, then when it went to the TA from the future cruise agent, the TA moved you into the group to get you more OBC. I would let your TA know that such an action needs to be discussed with you before the action is taken. Groups can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on a number of factors.

One thing to bear in mind is to not confuse customer service agents(or phone answerers) that work for the big Online agencies with a real travel agent.

The knowledge of particular travel agents vary all over the place...

So does their ability, their willingness to fight for you, their understanding of the cruise booking process, their connections with the cruise line...and many other factors...

 

A lot of travel agents just don't book a lot of cruises...or some don't necessarily book a lot with the cruise line you are going on...Some TAs just don't care--they'll go through the easy processof mechanically booking the cruise oblivious to the things that might be helpful in getting you a better deal. For some TAs, the incentive is merely the size of their commission--getting you a discount goes against their interests...

Also, Travel Agents are on different commission schedules based on their volume with the cruise line...and travel agencies can have differing overhead--which makes some TAs willing to give you other benefits--out of their own pocket--like additional OBC...

 

The trick is to find a REALLY GOOD Travel Agent--one who not only discounts--or gives OBC and/or other incentives, but also knows the ins and outs of booking and is willing to go the extra mile to get you the deal you want...One who really knows the cruise line, the itineraries...and watches the deals and pricing...and one who will fight for YOU when there's an issue with the cruise line...

 

Finding the combination of all of that is not easy...But there are some out there...Safe to say that MOST TAs out there fall short in one or all of those areas...

 

Also, help your TA about a bit. When booking, remind your TA about things like your Captains Club status...Go on line before hand and check yourself about things like senior rates or residency rates--and, if you find them, bring them to the TAs attention...Even really good TAs can miss some things at times...

 

And I'd never cancel one reservation until I have the better one CONFIRMED...And, if something went wrong, I would expect the TA to go to bat for me--or I'd be looking for another TA...

Agree! Finding a solid TA experienced in Cruises is tricky but worth it's weight in Gold. Spend time on CC, review everything about Celebrity and then know what you want... Booking onboard has its benefits and then having it transferred to your agent is very helpful.

Steve

The knowledge level of different agents will vary all over the place, regardless of whether you are dealing with an outside travel agent or one of the cruise line's own agents.

No person can possibly be knowledgeable about all circumstances for all cruises.

So for one cruise, one agent will be better, and for another cruise another one will be.

We, as customers, have no way of knowing in advance which particular agent will be best for any one specific cruise. But we can check around and compare offers to see where we can get the better deal.

When dealing with any travel agency or cruise line, some individual agents will be more responsive and helpful than others.

So when we find an agent we like, we try to use that same person again when we book future cruises with the same agency.

But we do not automatically and immediately give our booking to that person the next time just because we like him/her without first checking around to see what is being offered elsewhere.

Sometimes it can be best for us just to leave our booking with the cruise line and not give it to any outside TA at all.

It is like anything else you buy. You may have a salesperson you really like at your local car dealership, but most people do not automatically buy their next car from that person (unless a close family member or friend) without shopping around and comparing prices to see what is available elsewhere.

Don't forget that when you book a cruise on board a ship, there is no urgent need to assign it to any agent immediately.

So you can keep the reservation in your own name and then take the next 60 days to look around before deciding whether or not you want to transfer the booking to any TA, and if so, which one.

I look at it as we regular cruisers loyal to even a single line, still can't keep track of all the little nuances associated with the Brand, the ships and itineraries.

No way do I expect a travel agent to be 100% fluent on all things Celebrity, as well as all other lines.

As others said, the Captains's club "upgrade" has to happen at the moment of booking by the person who made the on-board reservation would have assigned you to a higher subcategory cabin if it was available (the perk is not 100% - it's subject to capacity controls so not always open). Perhaps the next category on your sailing as already sold out, or the number of cabins available for upgrades had already been assigned. Once a reservation number and cabin number have been assigned, no ability to upgrade using the Captain's Club perk.

Further, you booked while "preview member" on-board and weren't due the perks for being a "Classic member". Your "Classic status" didn't kick in until you reached dry land, which was after the reservation was made by the onboard booking agent. This is the most likely reason why you didn't get the Captain's Club upgrade, you were not a member of an eligible Club level at the time of booking.

My guess is there was a misunderstanding between you and the onboard booking agent, they know more than anyone, the upgrade" has to be done when booking, not once you get home. It'd be a tough sell to think they would tell people they can upgrade when they get off the ship and not just be done with it at time of booking.

The terms of the Captain's Club relative to Upgrades are pretty clear.

One-Category Upgrade

 

One-category upgrade requests must be made at the time of booking and apply only for upgrades within the supercategory, depending on availability. Example of a supercategory upgrade in AquaClass: A2 to A1. Captain's Club one category upgrade excludes category 12, FV, SV, C1 and guarantee categories, Z, Y, X, XC, XA, W. This offer cannot be used with certain restricted fares including but not limited to travel agent and employee rates. Upgrades apply for one stateroom per cruise. Stateroom assignments only. Not valid on holiday sailings. Upgrades available from categories 11- A1 on all Celebrity ships except Celebrity Xpedition®. Offer valid for members who are Classic Level or higher at the time of booking.

Ishould my TA have known about the perks in the Captain's Club levels? What level of knowledge do your TA's have about such things?

Given the number of cruise lines, and all the details in all of their loyalty programs, and then factoring in all the various promos they all have at any given time, and the fact that both loyalty issues and promos seem to change constantly, I doubt there is any TA out there who knows every little detail about all of this for every cruise line. Find a TA who is knowledgeable about the specific cruise line YOU want to go on, and ask them questions to ascertain how knowledgeable they are before booking.

I just got off the phone with the TA, then Celebrity, then the TA, then customer service (TA said to call them). Here's the scoop, if anyone is still following:

1) TA says that he "rebuilt" the entire reservation when he called Celebrity to remove/add the reservation. I had no idea we had 60 days to transfer the reservation, thanks for the tip! I felt that we needed to fix the situation ASAP because we actually had two bookings, one from before we cruised and then of course, the onboard booking,

2) TA said that I should call Celebrity and explain about the one free category upgrade and ask if we could have it. I truly believe that the future cruise agent really did say that we qualified for the one category upgrade because we would be classic level when we got home. We already had a specific room booked so I also believe that the exceptions to the free upgrade do not apply in this case. I would never object to being told an upgrade was not possible due to category availability if we did not already have a specific 2A cabin booked.

3) I called Celebrity and they said that they could not discuss this matter with me because I had a TA. Only the TA can talk to them. Sigh. So I called the TA back. He called Celebrity and said that the booking was in a "group". Groups was closed on Sundays and he will call them tomorrow. Suggested that I call customer service.

4) I called Customer Service, thinking I was talking to Celebrity's customer service. Nope. It was the travel agency. She wanted to see the booking docs from the onboard reservation. Sent them to her and that's where we stand now.

Lesson learned:from now on, we will only book "future cruise credit" cruises. We did that once with RCCL and it took one simple phone call to get our OBC added. And to add to the problem, I've been trying to complete our onboard check-in and...the dreaded "wait 20 minutes" stuff keeps coming up.

And there's a $200 charge we can't account for from Celebrity. Found the $500, but that's a mess for another post someday. Won't bore you more now!

I just got off the phone with the TA, then Celebrity, then the TA, then customer service (TA said to call them). Here's the scoop, if anyone is still following:

 

Still following and hoping for a good outcome for you.

IMHO it's not about the knowledge but the ethics. Their commission is based on what you pay so their incentive to get a better deal or change your fare could be affected. Nobody cares about your business better then you.

IMHO it's not about the knowledge but the ethics. Their commission is based on what you pay so their incentive to get a better deal or change your fare could be affected. Nobody cares about your business better then you.

Absolutely true! This has been a great learning experience and one that I will not repeat except as the aforementioned future cruise credit reservations while onboard. I will find out more in the am and let y'all know the outcome and anything I learn that might help someone else.

I have a question about the knowledge level I should expect from my travel agent. Here is the current scenario:

 

1) I booked an 11 day Mediterranean cruise, Reflection, 9/21/15, 2A cabin with TA. Got the 123GO pkg. deal. We went on our first Celebrity in Feb., so we were Preview members in the Captain's club at the time of booking.

 

2) While on board our cruise, I found out that we could book the same cruise and receive additional on-board credit. The future cruise desk told us that we could then transfer the booking back to our TA, and cancel the original booking with the TA. He booked us in a 2B, saying that, "because we are now Captain's Club members, we would automatically receive an upgrade to 2A."

 

3) we get home and I call the TA. He says that we cannot have the 1 category upgrade because it is not specifically stated in the paperwork I received from the future cruise desk. We end up paying about $225 more in order to have the same category 2A room, which completely negates the $200 OBC we received by booking in board. Looking back, it was probably a dumb move on my part to transfer the booking to the TA, but I was also working on booking 2 other cruises at the same time and got a little confused.

 

4) I happened to be looking around the Celebrity website this morning and lo and behold, there is a statement under the description of benefits for Classic Captains Club which states that a one-category upgrade within a super category is a perk of being a Classic member. We became Classic members as soon as we completed our first cruise, which was in February.

 

5) my question: should my TA have known about the perks in the Captain's Club levels? What level of knowledge do your TA's have about such things? This has become a matter of trust for me. All my reservations are with a large online service and I thought I had found a good TA but now I'm not so sure... If you are in the travel business you should know about the products you are selling. Any TA who books cruises should know about the loyalty programs. It's not hard to research. But to be fair you should have also done research before you booked. Had you read the perks for a classic member you would have been able to inform your TA that you were entitled to upgrade and you would have known that it had to be done at the time of the booking.

 

TIA

I booked directly with Celebrity and fortunately I knew a thing or two because as my luck would have it I got a brand new agent. I inquired about the upgrade and my rep didn't know a thing about it so he asked his supervisor. I was able to book my C2 for the price of a C3. Even knowing what I knew I still got cheated out of the reduced deposit that was being offered at the time. I didn't realize it until I was reading the fine print to answer a question for someone on Cruise Critic. It's amazing that sometimes we take the time to help others while we don't go through the same effort for ourselves. I could have called back to get the reduced deposit but since it all has to be paid for in the end I just left it alone.

If your TA is worth anything she will go to bat for you and get you your upgrade. CC members who use a TA swear by that statement and will only use a TA to book. Whether you use a TA or book directly through Celebrity you need to do your homework first.

IMHO it's not about the knowledge but the ethics. Their commission is based on what you pay so their incentive to get a better deal or change your fare could be affected. Nobody cares about your business better then you.

This is a BIT of a stretch I'd think. The difference n price from a 1 category upgrade is usually $50 to $100.

So assuming $100, the TA commission is likely around 15% of $80 (TA's don't get commissioned on FULL cabin fares) = $12. I doubt many professional TA's are willing to screw their customers in order to gain just $12 and risk losing the customer and other business.

This is a BIT of a stretch I'd think. The difference n price from a 1 category upgrade is usually $50 to $100.

 

So assuming $100, the TA commission is likely around 15% of $80 (TA's don't get commissioned on FULL cabin fares) = $12. I doubt many professional TA's are willing to screw their customers in order to gain just $12 and risk losing the customer and other business.

Hi Cle-guy,

I always appreciate your responses when I read the threads-you seem to be everywhere!

I'm torn on this issue. First, if I were a cruise TA, I would be in it for the discounts on my own travel, the pleasure I would have in helping others have fun, and just because I love all the details involved in getting a good deal. I would also never do anything unethical. For me, unethical means knowing something, like for example the 123GO pkg., and not mentioning it to an ignorant client. But is it, really? Probably not, and my perspective is skewed because my salary wouldn't go to rent, food for kids, etc. It's the proverbial "slippery slope" to decide to bump a commission because a client is ignorant one time. The next time would get easier and then it would just be part of the way business is done.

Also, just to do a little hypothetical math, my TA was bragging about booking 150 cabins in Feb, and 110 in Jan. He does a lot of volume. If every cabin were to generate an extra $12 in commission, that would be $3120 over the two months. Heck, my DH and I could go on a cruise for that!

Thanks for the input,

 

2) TA said that I should call Celebrity and explain about the one free category upgrade and ask if we could have it. I truly believe that the future cruise agent really did say that we qualified for the one category upgrade because we would be classic level when we got home. We already had a specific room booked so I also believe that the exceptions to the free upgrade do not apply in this case. I would never object to being told an upgrade was not possible due to category availability if we did not already have a specific 2A cabin booked.

 

3) I called Celebrity and they said that they could not discuss this matter with me because I had a TA. Only the TA can talk to them. Sigh. So I called the TA back. He called Celebrity and said that the booking was in a "group". Groups was closed on Sundays and he will call them tomorrow. Suggested that I call customer service.

 

4) I called Customer Service, thinking I was talking to Celebrity's customer service. Nope. It was the travel agency. She wanted to see the booking docs from the onboard reservation. Sent them to her and that's where we stand now.

 

This post alone tells me that your TA doesn't have much cruise experience at all. Almost EVERYONE knows that once a TA has your booking, Celebrity will NOT speak with you directly about your booking. You can book shore excursions, beverage packages, etc through Celebrity, but ANY booking issues or questions MUST go through your TA.

This post alone tells me that your TA doesn't have much cruise experience at all. Almost EVERYONE knows that once a TA has your booking, Celebrity will NOT speak with you directly about your booking. You can book shore excursions, beverage packages, etc through Celebrity, but ANY booking issues or questions MUST go through your TA.

Your absolutely correct!

~Steve

Hi Cle-guy,

I always appreciate your responses when I read the threads-you seem to be everywhere!

 

I'm torn on this issue. First, if I were a cruise TA, I would be in it for the discounts on my own travel, the pleasure I would have in helping others have fun, and just because I love all the details involved in getting a good deal. I would also never do anything unethical. For me, unethical means knowing something, like for example the 123GO pkg., and not mentioning it to an ignorant client. But is it, really? Probably not, and my perspective is skewed because my salary wouldn't go to rent, food for kids, etc. It's the proverbial "slippery slope" to decide to bump a commission because a client is ignorant one time. The next time would get easier and then it would just be part of the way business is done.

 

Also, just to do a little hypothetical math, my TA was bragging about booking 150 cabins in Feb, and 110 in Jan. He does a lot of volume. If every cabin were to generate an extra $12 in commission, that would be $3120 over the two months. Heck, my DH and I could go on a cruise for that!

 

Thanks for the input,

I don't normally chime in on these threads, but...

As a Travel Agent, it is my responsibility to get my client in the best situation. Period. Sometimes that means price is the most important factor, sometimes that means that a particular cabin is the most important. It depends on the client. BUT the client ALWAYS gets the best deal possible, with as many perks as possible (some of which I kick in on my own).

I have called clients before final payment and let them know that it was due, and that I got them a price reduction. Yes, sometimes a client who spends a lot of time online might see a price drop before I do, but it is pretty rare.

Additionally, it is my responsibility to know what I am selling. That is why I have taken as many cruise line courses and certifications as possible (RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Disney, Princess, Seabourn and a couple others). It is also why I tour as many ships as possible, when they are in port in Florida.

IMO, your travel agent needs to be working for YOU. Not doing you a favor. And frankly, if they don't know the answer to a question (we are, after all, human) they need to be able to get you the information requested in a timely manner.

For me, it is much more important to have clients that stick with me for a long time because they are happy with the service they receive, than make a few extra bucks quickly. Unfortunately, not everyone sees things that way.

Most agents at larger online cruise sites are not cruise experts. This is common knowledge and they do not try to hide it. For example, you cannot call one of these agencies and say "find a cruise for me". Their selling point is better deals. I can always get a better deal with the agency I use than with the Cruise Line. That does not mean they do not provide service. The agency I use has a separate customer service department and they have provided outstanding service on several occasions. One comment - in most instances Celebrity Passages booked on the ship are not combinable with special group rates and deals offered by any TA.

I don't normally chime in on these threads, but...

 

As a Travel Agent, it is my responsibility to get my client in the best situation. Period. Sometimes that means price is the most important factor, sometimes that means that a particular cabin is the most important. It depends on the client. BUT the client ALWAYS gets the best deal possible, with as many perks as possible (some of which I kick in on my own).

 

I have called clients before final payment and let them know that it was due, and that I got them a price reduction. Yes, sometimes a client who spends a lot of time online might see a price drop before I do, but it is pretty rare.

 

Additionally, it is my responsibility to know what I am selling. That is why I have taken as many cruise line courses and certifications as possible (RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Disney, Princess, Seabourn and a couple others). It is also why I tour as many ships as possible, when they are in port in Florida.

 

IMO, your travel agent needs to be working for YOU. Not doing you a favor. And frankly, if they don't know the answer to a question (we are, after all, human) they need to be able to get you the information requested in a timely manner.

 

For me, it is much more important to have clients that stick with me for a long time because they are happy with the service they receive, than make a few extra bucks quickly. Unfortunately, not everyone sees things that way.

I think that is great...

I have another question. For your cruise clients- is is customary for Travel Agents to send something for their clients once they are on the cruise? Like a bottle of wine, chocolates, flowers for the room, dinner or a spa event?

I'm talking about a Professional TA experienced in cruises- not a clearing house TA geared for the last minute best priced cruise.

~Steve